{"id":26243,"date":"2022-12-28T11:08:11","date_gmt":"2022-12-28T11:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/28\/e-e-a-t-ai-search-essentials-and-more\/"},"modified":"2022-12-28T11:08:11","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T11:08:11","slug":"e-e-a-t-ai-search-essentials-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/28\/e-e-a-t-ai-search-essentials-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"E-E-A-T, AI, Search Essentials and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As 2022 proved once again, SEO is never boring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Was 2022 the year of AI \u2013 or perhaps the official dawning of the age of AI? For the last month, it\u2019s been hard not to read about or avoid the temptation to spend hours playing with ChatGPT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We also had our usual share of algorithm updates, new tools and features, acquisitions, and plenty more changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One constant through it all? For 16 years<\/a>, Search Engine Land has covered all the biggest stories, just as we did again in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our look back at the biggest SEO news of 2022 \u2013\u00a0from Google and other search engines, tool providers and the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Google news<\/h2>\n

Google Search Essentials and more documentation changes<\/h3>\n

Google did a major refresh of its 20-year-old Webmaster Guidelines and also renamed it to Google Search Essentials<\/a>. The updated guidelines were streamlined, simplified, and updated \u201cto ensure people have clear guidance for how to build sites that serve people well.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Search Essentials was the biggest of Google\u2019s documentation updates in 2022, there were plenty more.<\/p>\n

Google updated several Feature Guides help documents:<\/p>\n

Google also:<\/p>\n

Also, not long after a study by SEO tool company Ahrefs showed half of GSC clicks going to hidden terms, Google removed language in its Performance report (Search) help doc<\/a>, calling hidden Search Console query data \u201cvery rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other documentation changes, Google:<\/p>\n

E-E-A-T and the QRG<\/h3>\n

Google\u2019s quality rater guidelines (QRG) for search were updated twice this year \u2013 once in July<\/a> and then again in December<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lily Ray<\/a> provided her usual excellent breakdowns of what changed in both updates to the QRG.<\/p>\n

For the July update (Google search quality rater guidelines update: What has changed<\/a>), Google reframed its definition of YMYL, revamped its definition of low-quality pages and more<\/p>\n

And as Ray covered in the December update (E-E-A-T and major updates to Google\u2019s quality rater guidelines<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe addition of \u2018experience\u2019 indicates that content quality can also be evaluated through the lens of understanding the extent to which the content creator has first-hand experience in the topic.<\/p>\n

With this reframing of E-E-A-T, Google also states that \u201ctrust\u201d is at the center of this concept and is the \u201cmost important member of the E-E-A-T family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Before E-A-T became E-E-A-T \u2013 we learned from Google that E-A-T is synonymous with \u201cgood content quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cE-A-T is a template for how we rate an individual site. We do it to every single query and every single result. It\u2019s pervasive throughout every single thing we do,\u201d according to Hyung-Jin Kim, VP of Search, Google, who spoke at SMX Next in November. Dig deeper: in 7 takeaways from the SMX Next keynote with Hyung-Jin Kim, VP Search at Google<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While this is decidedly not new, it is always good for SEO professionals to understand why Google does the things it does.<\/p>\n

Algorithm updates<\/h3>\n

In 2022, there were 10 confirmed Google algorithm updates:<\/p>\n

At SMX Next, we learned from Google\u2019s Kim that Google\u2019s Panda algorithm evolved into a new algorithm called Coati<\/a>. Although this was new information about something fairly old in the Google algorithm world, it was still an interesting discovery.<\/p>\n

Also, Google\u2019s John Mueller confirmed that Google no longer used the 2010 and 2018 page speed signals. They were replaced by Core Web Vitals<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We also learned, via a document Google released to the U.S. Copyright Office, that Google\u2019s Pirate Update can cause 89% drop in search traffic for offending sites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In November, Google published a document on its notable ranking systems<\/a>, which included algorithms that are no longer used for ranking or have been incorporated into new systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Google also introduced a new \u201calgorithmic improvement\u201d for how it selects titles for the search result snippets<\/a> for multi-language or transliterated titles or where the title element is written in a different language or script from its content.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read Barry Schwartz\u2019s recap to dig deeper into the year in algorithm updates. And make sure to check out our history of Google algorithm updates page<\/a> for all our latest news and guidance around the latest algorithm updates.<\/p>\n

AI & machine learning<\/h3>\n

ChatGPT was all the talk in the SEO world in the final weeks of 2022. And you can bet we\u2019ll be hearing more about the (and other) exciting AI technologies in 2023, especially with GTP-4 not far away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, many sites will attempt to mass produce content using AI tools. Just be careful \u2013\u00a0earlier this year, Google warned that Google doesn\u2019t want your AI-generated SEO spam content<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Which was a bit ironic, considering you could, theoretically, use Google Docs to write your meta descriptions<\/a>. And surprisingly, they weren\u2019t all that bad.<\/p>\n

Google also detailed how it uses artificial intelligence In Google Search<\/a>. One other way Google was considering using AI was to update business hours in local listings<\/a>. Google also formally introduced SpamBrain<\/a>, its AI-based spam prevention system, which launched in 2018.<\/p>\n

And despite the many positive and exciting ways to use AI, there is always a dark side, as we reported in Beware of fake DMCA link requests by AI-generated lawyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Local search<\/h3>\n

Lots of local search news in 2022 \u2013 new attributes, review issues, Google Business Profile changes, and scams were among the main headlines:<\/p>\n

New attributes:<\/p>\n

Google Business Profile, Maps and reviews:<\/p>\n

Scams:<\/p>\n

More Google news<\/h3>\n

Microsoft Bing\u00a0<\/h2>\n

IndexNow<\/h3>\n

Microsoft Bing continued to push its IndexNow<\/a> initiative, adding co-sharing of URLs with Yandex<\/a>, announcing in August that more than 16 million websites were using it (publishing more than 1.2 billion URLs per day to the IndexNow API), as well as adding multiple new integrations:<\/p>\n

More Microsoft Bing news<\/h3>\n

In case you missed all the thousands of reminders to adopt Google Analytics 4 until now, now is the time to adopt GA4. Because Universal Analytics ceases to exist July 1, 2023<\/a>. Hope you are ready.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an odd bit of rebranding, Google Data Studio was renamed Looker Studio<\/a>. Google said it was \u201cunifying\u201d the Google business intelligence products \u2013 including the popular Google Data Studio product \u2013 \u201cunder the Looker umbrella.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Google Search Console\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Google Search Console had plenty of new additions \u2013 tools, features and reporting improvements. Here are links to our coverage:<\/p>\n

In December, we reported on an experimental feature called Content ideas<\/a>. Days later, we learned Question Hub is closing down<\/a>. Coincidence? Maybe we\u2019ll find out in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GSC also had a fair share of reporting bugs and other issues in 2022:<\/p>\n

We also said a final farewell to the URL Parameters tool<\/a>, which Google said had \u201clow value,\u201d the old message panel<\/a> and the International targeting report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And did you get one of those intrusive interstitials notices<\/a> from GSC?<\/p>\n

Acquisitions in the SEO space<\/h3>\n

Early in 2022, it looked like we were in for a busy year of acquisitions. Things slowed down around mid-year, but check out the major changes we saw this year with some of the largest SEO technology companies:<\/p>\n

Moz deindexed<\/h3>\n

A DMCA request removed SEO tool Moz from Google search<\/a> for just under 12 hours. To be removed from Google search for your branded term is the stuff of SEO nightmares, no matter how long it lasts.<\/p>\n

Zero-Clicks: an alternative view<\/h3>\n

Semrush put out an interesting study on zero-click searches. It found that 25.6% of desktop searches and 17.3% of mobile searches were zero-click<\/a>, much lower than prior \u2013 let\u2019s call it \u201csuspect\u201d \u2013\u00a0zero-click research.<\/p>\n

Other search engines<\/h2>\n

Ahrefs made big news when it revealed details about its own general-purpose search engine, Yep<\/a>. While it\u2019s no Google killer, more alternative search engines is a good thing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, DuckDuckGo, the most well-known privacy search engine, seemed to be continuing its steady growth, finally passing 100 billion searches<\/a> in January. Until April. That\u2019s when DuckDuckGo fell below 100 million daily average searches per day<\/a>. And in the months since, DuckDuckGo has been unable to get back to that level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In memoriam<\/h2>\n

In 2022, we lost influential SEO pioneer and expert Bill Slawski<\/a> on May 17. He was best known for helping the community make sense of search patents, mostly on SEO By The Sea. Thankfully, that treasure trove of information lives on<\/a>, after it briefly went offline. In the wake of his passing, we also discovered some upsetting Google search results for [bill slawski obituary]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another incredibly sad loss was that of Tatiana Perebeinis<\/a>, the chief accountant of SE Ranking, who was one of four people killed in a Russian attack in Irpin, Ukraine.<\/p>\n

SMX Advanced & Next<\/h2>\n

We ran two digital events this year \u2013 SMX Advanced in June and SMX Next in November. Both shows were packed full of actionable SEO tips and insights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Below are links to our coverage of the SEO track from Advanced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And you can expect to read lots of coverage of the SEO track from SMX Next over the coming weeks on Search Engine Land.<\/p>\n

SEO in 2023<\/h2>\n

As we look ahead, here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n

Unless you plan to abandon Google Analytics, you need to accept and fully adopt GA4 \u2013 because the current GA goes away in July. And if you haven\u2019t migrated yet? You\u2019re going to have an extra hard time comparing year-on-year data. Also: make sure you save whatever historical GA data you need, because Google will delete it all. And once it\u2019s gone, it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

Should be excited or terrified by ChatGPT? Yes. I mean, it depends. Just remember, ChatGPT it\u2019s only useful for things up until 2021. But GPT-4 is coming soon. <\/p>\n

With the rise of AI tools, it will be interesting to see how Google responds to what could potentially be a flood of duplicative AI-generated content. If that does happen, spoiler: it won\u2019t go well for those sites. Because there are plenty of tools that are good at detecting AI content \u2013 and Google is well aware of what\u2019s happening. <\/p>\n

We also know there will be Google algorithm updates. Google has confirmed 10 major updates in 2021 and 2022. We know there will be core updates and probably more coming with the helpful content update. And when it happens, Search Engine Land will be first to report on it. <\/p>\n\n

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